By: Sarjo Brito
Famous human rights lawyer, Reed Brody, who helps victims pursue abusive leaders for atrocities, told reporters shortly after the Jammeh2Justice press conference yesterday that prosecuting former Gambian dictator, Jammeh, “will strongly depend on the political will of the Gambia government.”
Brody, who played a crucial role in the prosecution of Chad’s Hissene Habre and Chile’s Augusto Pinochet said testimonies at the Truth Commission linking Jammeh to gross human rights violations leave an expectation both in the Gambia and internationally that Jammeh and his accomplices will be brought to justice.
‘’I believe that there is a desire within the region. Let’s not forget that the worst massacre of the Yahya Jammeh period was the killing of approximately 59 West African migrants, including 44 from Ghana, 9 from Nigeria, and several from Senegal, Cote D’Ivoire, etc. I think that if the Gambia takes an initiative and reaches out to those countries, there will be an appetite within the region for a regional tribunal, a hybrid tribunal between Gambia and ECOWAS, which will not only be an important justice mechanism but will make it difficult for Equatorial Guinea not to handover Yahya Jammeh to an African justice system in an African court’’
Responding to questions about victims having no faith in the execution of the government white paper, Mr Brody stated that it was strange that no mention of Jammeh was made during President Barrow’s recent visit to Equatorial Guinea.
“It is strange that one week after the Minister of Justice stated flatly that the former President will be brought to justice, the President conducted a state visit to Equatorial Guinea and according to his spokesman did not raise the issue, but I believe that there is such a strong appetite and such strong evidence frankly that the government will hopefully move forward, take concrete actions and set up a tribunal. There is still a lot of work to be done,” he concluded
